SASKATOON – It was a cold, windy, miserable day last spring when Ben and Maria van Piggelen’s 20,000 asparagus crowns were planted in the pouring rain.
The Saskatoon couple stood in the mud and wondered if they were doing the right thing by jumping head first into agriculture diversification by growing white asparagus.
A year later their four-acre field of asparagus is thriving and the couple can’t believe their success.
“We’re pretty proud of our fields,” said Maria.
There are 3,000 hectares of asparagus grown in the couple’s home country of Holland. It was this familiarity with white asparagus in the countryside and in their Dutch restaurant that gave them courage to try growing the crop in Saskatchewan.
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Around the world white asparagus is a gourmet crop. It’s nicknamed “white gold” because of its cost and the money it can generate.
An average crop can produce 7,000 kilograms per hec-tare each year. The van Piggelens expect to sell it for at least $5 a kg when they can begin harvesting next spring. The $35,000 per hectare is a tidy sum.
For the past few years the couple, who owned a greenhouse, have been looking for a new venture. When Ben approached the Saskatchewan government’s Agriculture Development Fund about funding for a white asparagus project they were enthusiastic. When he got a stack of forms to fill out he lost interest. But the people at the ADF office were still keen and kept “bugging” van Piggelen to apply for funding.
“I was reluctant when I got into it, but now I’m gung ho,” he said.
As technical adviser on the project it’s Doug Waterer’s job to “bring Ben down to earth whenever possible.”
Most asparagus is imported
Like the van Piggelens, Waterer is enthusiastic about both white and green asparagus production in Saskatchewan. There are only 11 acres of green asparagus grown in the province and most is sold at farmers’ markets. The province imports about 99 percent of its asparagus. The Van Piggelens are the only white asparagus growers in Western Canada.
“Asparagus is a premium product irregardless of whether it’s white or green,” said Waterer, with the department of horticulture science at the University of Saskatchewan.
“There is a tremendous potential market,” he said.
White asparagus is grown from the same plant as green asparagus. The only difference is the plants are covered with soil in the spring and don’t get sunlight, which produces the chlorophyll and makes the tips green.
“If the topsoil wasn’t put on top then they’d be green asparagus,” said Ben.
To Maria and Europeans who’ve grown up with white asparagus, there’s no comparison. The white are “better tasting and softer,” she said.
Waterer said the white has a more subtle flavor.
“It’s an aquired taste for the palate and the pocketbook.”
Because of the extra labor required to grow white asparagus underground, it’s about three times the price of the green. Even in Europe the white asparagus is for the upscale gourmet market.
The van Piggelens have had several calls from grocery store wholesalers, specialty store owners and restaurants waiting for their supply to begin.
In the first two years of crop establishment there is no profit. Harvest begins in the third year and yields can peak around 10,000 kg/ha in the fifth year. Some fields can last about 20 years, said Waterer.
In a trial they compared North American and European varieties. In the first year the European varieties were far superior in growth and survival rate. Over the next few years they will measure winter hardiness and yield.
Already the couple anticipate there’s a large enough demand for a 100-hectare field.
“If it gets on the shelf people will buy it,” he said.
